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Bird flu cases may be going undetected in US dairy workers Mon, 15 Jul 2024 23:15:09 +0100 Ten people in the US have been infected with a strain of bird flu called H5N1, but patchy surveillance means that some cases may be slipping through the cracks

Raindrop-powered generator harvests electricity from bad weather Mon, 15 Jul 2024 20:00:10 +0100 A device that generates a small electrical current from falling raindrops is able to power lights and fans

Planes are under attack from GPS jamming – can we find a fix? Mon, 15 Jul 2024 18:00:50 +0100 GPS jamming and spoofing has begun to affect transatlantic flights. Now the race is on to develop alternative ways of navigating

Is a vital ocean current just decades away from catastrophic collapse? Mon, 15 Jul 2024 11:00:11 +0100 Two studies suggest the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation could collapse by the middle of the century and wreak havoc with the climate, but such predictions are controversial

AI can identify a child's sex based on their brain activity Mon, 15 Jul 2024 17:01:01 +0100 An AI can identify the sex of a 9 to 10-year-old child based on their brain scans, but may be less accurate when it comes to gauging their gender

Deep pit on moon may be entrance to cave that could act as lunar base Mon, 15 Jul 2024 17:00:26 +0100 We may have finally found an entry point to the caves hidden beneath the moon’s surface, which could shield future astronauts from dangerous radiation

The physicist who wants to build a telescope bigger than Earth Mon, 15 Jul 2024 17:00:00 +0100 Alex Lupsasca plans to extend Earth's largest telescope network beyond the atmosphere with a space-based dish. It could spot part of a black hole we've never seen before – and perhaps discover new physics

Why did humans evolve big brains? A new idea bodes ill for our future Mon, 08 Jul 2024 17:00:00 +0100 Recent fossil finds suggest that big brains weren't an evolutionary asset to our ancestors but evolved by accident – and are likely to shrink again in the near future

Why you shouldn't believe claims you can grow a rose in a potato Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Social media assures us that we can grow a rose cutting in a raw potato. But you're better off sticking with tried and tested methods of rose propagation, says James Wong

The vital viruses that shape your microbiome and your health Tue, 09 Jul 2024 17:00:00 +0100 Your body is home to trillions of beneficial viruses crucial for a healthy microbiome. We may one day be able to tweak this "virome" to treat obesity and anxiety

How a simple physics experiment could reveal the “dark dimension” Wed, 10 Jul 2024 17:50:00 +0100 Could the universe's missing matter be hiding in a "dark" extra dimension? We now have simple ways to test this outlandish idea - and the existence of extra dimensions more generally

A microscopic diving board can cheat the second law of thermodynamics Fri, 12 Jul 2024 18:00:33 +0100 Working with a tiny cantilever, physicists managed to violate the second law of thermodynamics, using less energy than expected to change the cantilever’s motion

Your pupils change size as you breathe Fri, 12 Jul 2024 16:00:35 +0100 Our pupils shrink and expand as we breathe in and out, but whether this affects vision is unclear

Last common ancestor of all life emerged far earlier than thought Fri, 12 Jul 2024 11:00:03 +0100 All life on Earth can trace its origin to LUCA, the last universal common ancestor – and now it seems this organism may have lived a few hundred million years after the planet formed

Denisovan DNA may help modern humans adapt to different environments Fri, 12 Jul 2024 13:00:37 +0100 Highland and lowland populations in Papua New Guinea have different gene variants derived from Denisovan archaic humans, indicating possible adaptations for lower oxygen levels and higher malaria risk

Russia is building ground-based kamikaze robots out of old hoverboards Fri, 12 Jul 2024 11:00:26 +0100 Hoverboards, or self-balancing scooters, are already used by hobbyists as a basis for robots, but now a group in Russia is putting them to use on the battlefields of Ukraine

These stunning images made the shortlist for space photo competition Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 See some of the dazzling pictures that were shortlisted for the annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition

Why many inventions, from flying cars to smart robots, fail to launch Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Some technologies never quite make it. But a new book, The Long History of the Future, shows how certain problems are just bigger and thornier than we thought

Astronauts could drink their own urine with water-recycling spacesuit Fri, 12 Jul 2024 06:00:38 +0100 When astronauts go on a spacewalk, their urine is collected by what is essentially a large diaper before being thrown away, and they have less than a litre of drinking water available - but a new kind of spacesuit could solve both issues

You can turn any random sequence of events into a clock Thu, 11 Jul 2024 23:00:00 +0100 A set of mathematical equations can help turn apparently random observations into a clock – and then measure its accuracy

Laser helps turn an electron into a coil of mass and charge Thu, 11 Jul 2024 20:00:19 +0100 Researchers have reshaped single electrons into spiralling matter waves with distinct handedness that could be used to study and control materials

The plague may have wiped out most northern Europeans 5000 years ago Wed, 10 Jul 2024 17:00:21 +0100 DNA evidence from tombs in Sweden and Denmark suggests major plague outbreaks were responsible for the Neolithic decline in northern Europe

Melting sea ice is hindering, not helping, Canadian Arctic shipping Thu, 11 Jul 2024 17:00:48 +0100 Thick sea ice is flowing into the Northwest Passage, complicating predictions that melting ice due to climate change will open a shorter route between oceans

Woolly mammoth DNA exceptionally preserved in freeze-dried 'jerky' Thu, 11 Jul 2024 17:00:21 +0100 A complete genome has been extracted from a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth, which might bring us closer to resurrecting the species

What would Earth look like in 25 years? I asked the experts Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Exhausted by today's political and environmental instability, Annalee Newitz investigated what a future Earth might look like. Get ready for green mining, soft cities and robo-taxis

Menstrual pads that turn blood solid could reduce the risk of leaks Thu, 11 Jul 2024 13:51:20 +0100 Adding a polymer-alcohol mixture to menstrual pads causes blood to solidify, rather than being absorbed, which could ward off leaks

People with Alzheimer's disease benefit from spending time with horses Thu, 11 Jul 2024 13:00:44 +0100 Horse therapy helps people with Alzheimer's disease socialise and improves their mood to a greater extent than music therapy, which is more established for supporting people with dementia

'Unprecedented and inconceivable': pylon falls over after nuts removed Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Feedback wonders if a little engineering knowhow might have come in handy in Glorit, New Zealand, where procedures were seemingly ignored during maintenance of an electrical power pylon

Why taking our grief out into nature can help us heal Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 When we lose a loved one, it has a profound effect on our bodies. Taking our grief outside offers us better healing in the long term than shutting it away, says Ruth Allen

Why do teenagers take such risks? A new book has some answers Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 An eye-opening new book by psychologist Lucy Foulkes lifts the lid on the surprisingly rational strategies behind the risky behaviours of adolescence, finds Catherine de Lange

Speed of decision-making reflects our biases Wed, 10 Jul 2024 23:00:51 +0100 Within a group of decision-makers, the longer it takes someone to make a choice, the less likely they are to be influenced by their inherent biases according to a mathematical model

Governments bans on quantum computer exports have no basis in science Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Several nations around the world have placed arbitrary limits on the export of quantum computers, despite today's devices having little practical use. The restrictions are counterproductive and at odds with the scientific method

A long-standing mystery about breastfeeding may have been solved Wed, 10 Jul 2024 17:00:29 +0100 Researchers have discovered a hormone in mice that prevents bone loss during lactation and could one day be used to treat osteoporosis

Lions' record-breaking swim across channel captured by drone camera Wed, 10 Jul 2024 21:00:18 +0100 Two lions, one missing a leg, made a 1.5-kilometre swim through crocodile-infested waters in Uganda, probably in order to mate with females

Floating whale carcasses are a problem – can we predict their drift? Wed, 10 Jul 2024 12:21:17 +0100 A dead whale was tagged with satellite tracking equipment and monitored for more than a week as part of an effort to help authorities better deal with giant carcasses that get washed ashore

Mobile weather labs map toll of extreme heat in scorching US cities Wed, 10 Jul 2024 12:00:40 +0100 Trucks outfitted with weather sensors, lasers and balloons are mapping urban microclimates in the extreme heat of the US Southwest

Crushed rocks and fertiliser switches can cut nitrous oxide from farms Wed, 10 Jul 2024 10:00:58 +0100 Adding crushed basalt rocks and special fertilisers to soils could cut nitrous oxide emissions without harming the ozone layer, but these strategies will cost billions

Giant dome filled with CO2 could store excess power from renewables Wed, 10 Jul 2024 07:00:24 +0100 Italian firm Energy Dome is building a "CO2 battery" in Sardinia that will store excess power from renewables and release it back to the grid when needed

When did human ancestors start walking on two legs? Tue, 09 Jul 2024 20:00:17 +0100 Anthropologists have been arguing for 20 years about whether Sahelanthropus, a hominin that lived about 7 million years ago, was one of the first bipedal apes

Artificial flavours released by cooking aim to improve lab-grown meat Tue, 09 Jul 2024 17:00:47 +0100 Lab-grown meat can be shaped into steaks and meatballs, but it can be lacking in the flavour department. Aromatic chemicals that are released when heated could offer a solution

'Butter' made from CO2 could pave the way for food without farming Tue, 09 Jul 2024 13:00:54 +0100 US start-up Savor says its synthetic vegan fat, made without livestock or the crops needed for margarine, could cut carbon emissions and save rainforests

How tiny black holes would behave inside the sun, Earth – and us Tue, 09 Jul 2024 16:05:43 +0100 In this episode of Dead Planets Society, our hosts place primordial black holes in a variety of objects with surprising results

Google creates self-replicating life from digital 'primordial soup' Tue, 09 Jul 2024 15:14:42 +0100 A digital "primordial soup" with no rules or direction can lead to the emergence of self-replicating artificial life forms, in an experiment that may hint at how biological life began on Earth

Stunning blue-skinned frog is a rare genetic mutant Tue, 09 Jul 2024 11:47:13 +0100 The magnificent tree frog (Litoria splendida) is normally a vibrant green, but conservationists in Australia have spotted a blue-skinned individual

Self-cooling artificial grass could help cities handle extreme weather Tue, 09 Jul 2024 06:00:21 +0100 An artificial sports pitch that stores water below the surface cools itself down on hot days by letting water evaporate, just like natural grass

Cosmic rays can help synchronise the global financial system Mon, 08 Jul 2024 21:25:53 +0100 Particles generated by cosmic rays can penetrate indoor and underground environments with ease, and could provide a more secure alternative to GPS for synchronising financial transactions worldwide

Is ultra-processed food unhealthy? Here's why no one can agree Mon, 08 Jul 2024 17:00:53 +0100 While ultra-processed food is the latest buzzword in nutrition, the scientific evidence for how it affects our health continues to point in different directions. Why can't researchers just tell us the perfect diet?

Evolutionary story of Australia's dingoes revealed by ancient DNA Mon, 08 Jul 2024 21:00:31 +0100 Dingoes, the native wild dogs of Australia, arrived on the continent more than 3000 years ago and their gene pool has had little input from domestic dogs

Gene therapy could prevent the tau tangles linked with Alzheimer's Mon, 08 Jul 2024 13:00:07 +0100 Tests on lab-grown “mini-brains” show a one-off gene therapy treatment can prevent the formation of the tau tangles associated with several neurodegenerative conditions

Multiple nations enact mysterious export controls on quantum computers Wed, 03 Jul 2024 14:00:09 +0100 Identical wording placing limits on the export of quantum computers has appeared in regulations across the globe. There doesn't seem to be any scientific reason for the controls, and all can be traced to secret international discussions

Ariane 6 rocket launch: What is it and when is it happening? Mon, 08 Jul 2024 10:45:47 +0100 Europe is set to regain its capacity to launch satellites into space when the Ariane 6 rocket finally flies after years of delays

Millions of UK homes scanned for energy leaks to help reach net zero Mon, 08 Jul 2024 09:00:05 +0100 Cars carrying sensors and scanners have been touring UK cities collecting data to help property owners plan carbon-cutting retrofit projects

How mathematics can help you divide anything up fairly Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Whether you are sharing a cake or a coastline, maths can help make sure everyone is happy with their cut, says Katie Steckles

Britain saw centuries of economic growth under Roman rule Fri, 05 Jul 2024 20:00:58 +0100 The technologies introduced by the Romans after they conquered Britain led to the kind of economic growth seen in the industrial age

New anti-ageing vaccines promise to prevent diseases like Alzheimer's Wed, 03 Jul 2024 17:00:00 +0100 It may soon be possible to vaccinate ourselves against the diseases of old age, keeping our body and brain healthier for longer

AI beats top racers at Gran Turismo – without cheating Fri, 05 Jul 2024 16:00:00 +0100 An AI driver achieved faster lap times than the best humans in the video game Gran Turismo 7, and unlike previous versions, it only used information available to players

Is the universe a game? Fri, 05 Jul 2024 13:00:39 +0100 Generations of scientists have compared the universe to a giant, complex game, raising questions about who is doing the playing – and what it would mean to win

The best science fiction books of 2024 so far Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 From a quantum-bubble reality show from Peng Shepherd to a murderous valet bot from Adrian Tchaikovsky, enjoy this year's best science fiction so far if you're heading off on your travels, says Emily H. Wilson

Weird form of 'dangling' ice spotted in space for the first time Fri, 05 Jul 2024 11:00:39 +0100 A type of ice that has only ever been seen in the lab has now been found in space by the James Webb Space Telescope, and understanding it could tell us more about the chemistry that led to life on Earth

Imagining Nigeria as ground zero in an alien invasion Fri, 05 Jul 2024 11:00:22 +0100 Tade Thompson, author of sci-fi novel Rosewater, the latest pick for the New Scientist Book Club, on subverting the expectations of invasion narratives and writing about people not tech

Read an extract from Tade Thompson’s science fiction novel Rosewater Fri, 05 Jul 2024 11:00:18 +0100 In this tantalising extract from Tade Thompson’s debut Rosewater, we meet Kaaro and learn about the psychic powers he has had since an alien invasion

3D-printed egg shells can help bones regrow Fri, 05 Jul 2024 10:00:29 +0100 Crushed chicken egg shells have been turned into a structure that supports bone growth in the laboratory

Haunting photos bring fictional female explorers to life Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Tonje Bøe Birkeland's photographs imagine the exploits of fictional female scientists and adventurers from the past

Mind-reading AI recreates what you're looking at with amazing accuracy Thu, 04 Jul 2024 10:00:04 +0100 Giving AI systems the ability to focus on particular brain regions can make them much better at reconstructing images of what a monkey is looking at from brain recordings

Flower farm could supply nickel for electric vehicle batteries Thu, 04 Jul 2024 17:00:59 +0100 A start-up in Albania co-founded by a mining industry mogul is farming plants to harvest carbon-neutral nickel from the soil while simultaneously removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

Making roofs white or reflective is the best way to keep a city cool Thu, 04 Jul 2024 15:00:31 +0100 So-called “cool roofs” would bring down the average air temperature in cities like London during a heatwave more than green roofs, trees or solar panels do

Cool solutions could head off the climate-damaging rush for air con Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Demand for air conditioning will only grow as temperatures rise, sending energy consumption soaring. But there are some interesting ways to deal with the issue, finds Graham Lawton

Blue whale mother caught feeding her calf on video for first time ever Thu, 04 Jul 2024 14:31:47 +0100 A snorkelling tourist in East Timor has filmed a pygmy blue whale calf drinking its mother’s milk for the first time

Physicists figured out the ideal container size for pistachio shells Thu, 04 Jul 2024 14:00:14 +0100 A simple experiment and mathematical model suggest that when you snack on pistachios, you may need a surprisingly large bowl to accommodate the discarded shells

Quantum computers may work better when they ignore causality Thu, 04 Jul 2024 13:00:44 +0100 A quantum phenomenon that muddles the rules of cause and effect could make quantum computers better at performing certain operations

Vivid snake species with blue lips and yellow eyes is new to science Thu, 04 Jul 2024 12:30:53 +0100 A grass-green snake from Vietnam with yellow eyes, blue lips and a brick-red tail has been identified as a distinct species

Hot news: abandoned bird's nest 'still there', reports professor Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Feedback, as ever bringing you the most up-to-date news from the floors of the National Roman Museum, can reveal that an abandoned nest has not been removed from the mouth of a statue, according to a visitor

New Quiet Place movie adds to irrational fears over marauding aliens Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Sci-fi depictions of extraterrestrial invasions can heighten anxiety about our efforts to make first contact, says METI president Douglas Vakoch

Google's claim of quantum supremacy has been completely smashed Wed, 03 Jul 2024 18:00:20 +0100 Google's Sycamore quantum computer was the first to demonstrate quantum supremacy – solving calculations that would be unfeasible on a classical computer – but now ordinary machines have pulled ahead again

The best science non-fiction books of 2024 so far Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Want to save our seas? Make exotic cocktails? Ponder life's meaning? Whatever your plans this July, Simon Ings rounds up the year's best non-fiction so far

The benefits of anti-ageing medicines will outweigh the downsides Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0100 We shouldn't fear life-extending medical advances based on unintended consequences. If we can make lives longer and healthier, potential problems are a price worth paying

Giant salamander-like predator roamed Namibia 280 million years ago Wed, 03 Jul 2024 17:00:37 +0100 A fossil found in the Namib desert has been described as a 2.5-metre long predator that resembled a giant salamander

50,000-year-old picture of a pig is the oldest known narrative art Wed, 03 Jul 2024 17:00:33 +0100 A new radiometric dating technique reveals that cave paintings on Sulawesi, Indonesia, are even older than previously thought, pushing back the earliest evidence of storytelling

Ancient Denisovans hunted snow leopards on the Tibetan plateau Wed, 03 Jul 2024 17:00:00 +0100 Thousands of bones found in a Tibetan cave have been analysed to learn how mysterious ancient humans known as Denisovans lived

More than 100 shark species may face major population declines by 2100 Wed, 03 Jul 2024 15:00:27 +0100 The egg hatch rate of one shark species may plummet by up to 90 per cent by the end of the century, suggesting that other egg-laying sharks are at risk

Computer viruses can spread by using ChatGPT to write sneaky emails Wed, 03 Jul 2024 12:33:48 +0100 Large language models can be abused by malware to help them avoid detection and propagate by crafting realistic replies to emails

Iron Age skeletons found under bridge may have been hit by a tsunami Wed, 03 Jul 2024 11:00:59 +0100 Twenty people may have died 2000 years ago when an Iron Age bridge suddenly collapsed following a tsunami or flood, but scientists also cannot rule out that they were sacrificed

Thousands of US dams may be unprepared for extreme rain Tue, 02 Jul 2024 23:15:18 +0100 Many dams in the US were designed decades ago using estimates of precipitation based on outdated science – and that makes them more vulnerable to warming-driven extreme weather

Tiny chip could enable super-secure quantum Wi-Fi Tue, 02 Jul 2024 22:54:33 +0100 A 1.8-millimetre-wide silicon chip with over 1000 components could help quantum devices communicate without the need for wires or specialised fridges

The temperature of your face could help diagnose medical conditions Tue, 02 Jul 2024 19:11:53 +0100 Small changes to the temperature of your cheeks, nose and around your eyes could let an AI estimate how old you are and flag issues like diabetes and high blood pressure

Ants amputate their nestmates’ limbs to save them from infection Tue, 02 Jul 2024 17:00:32 +0100 Ants are one of the few animals that tend to the injuries of their peers, and now it seems they are also the first non-humans known to perform life-saving amputations

How ghost cities in the Amazon are rewriting the story of civilisation Tue, 02 Jul 2024 17:00:00 +0100 Remote sensing, including lidar, reveals that the Amazon was once home to millions of people. The emerging picture of how they lived challenges ideas of human cultural evolution

Ancient artefacts suggest Australian ritual endured for 12,000 years Mon, 01 Jul 2024 17:00:43 +0100 Wooden sticks found in an Australian cave appear to match the accounts of a 19th-century anthropologist, suggesting the GurnaiKurnai people practised the same ritual at the end of the last glacial period

AI can predict how monkeys play Pac-Man Tue, 02 Jul 2024 09:00:39 +0100 An AI model learned to predict the choices made by monkeys and their eye movements while playing Pac-Man, hinting that a machine intelligence can “think” in a similar way to mammals

Incredibly complex mazes discovered in structure of bizarre crystals Tue, 02 Jul 2024 01:01:38 +0100 The atoms within quasicrystals are arranged in repeating forms, but unlike ordinary crystals they have more complex symmetry. It turns out this makes them perfect for producing mazes

Canned water made from air and sunlight to hit US stores in September Mon, 01 Jul 2024 19:00:39 +0100 US company Source, which makes solar panels that produce drinking water from moisture in the air, plans to launch a canned water brand called Sky Wtr later this year

The hacker turned politician using digital tech to reimagine democracy Mon, 01 Jul 2024 17:00:00 +0100 Taiwan’s first ever minister of digital affairs has transformed politics, using online platforms and AI to give power to the country’s citizens – with lessons for us all

Solar boom has replaced farmland that could feed millions of people Mon, 01 Jul 2024 13:00:26 +0100 More than 1300 square kilometres of cropland worldwide was covered by solar panels in 2018, an area that could be producing 4 quadrillion calories per year

The best new science fiction books of July 2024 Mon, 01 Jul 2024 13:00:17 +0100 The Matrix star Keanu Reeves’s debut sci-fi novel is out this month, written in collaboration with old hand China Miéville, and we also have new books from Adam Roberts and Aliette de Bodard

Baby-led weaning makes little nutritional difference vs spoon-feeding Mon, 01 Jul 2024 12:42:03 +0100 Despite its growing popularity, there has been little scientific investigation into parents who give babies solid food to feed themselves, known as baby-led weaning

Moss that survives deep freeze and radiation could live on Mars Mon, 01 Jul 2024 11:30:25 +0100 Syntrichia caninervis is found in some of the most extreme places on Earth and can survive conditions that would kill almost any other organism, making it a potential candidate for colonising Mars

Get ready to watch a rare explosive star system blaze into life Wed, 26 Jun 2024 19:00:00 +0100 So bright you'll be able to see it without a telescope, a “new” star system, T Coronae Borealis, will become visible for the first time in 80 years between now and September. Abigail Beall explains where to spot it

We are closer than ever to finally proving the multiverse exists Tue, 25 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0100 One hundred years ago, we discovered there were other galaxies beyond our own. Now, we might be on the verge of another discovery: that there are other universes

Are space and time illusions? The answer could lie in black holes Tue, 25 Jun 2024 16:00:00 +0100 Whether space and time are part of the universe or they emerge from quantum entanglement is one of the biggest questions in physics. And we are getting close to the truth

Save the planet, release your inner wild, urges a passionate new book Wed, 26 Jun 2024 19:00:00 +0100 Meet Craig Foster, from the Oscar-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher, who thinks we should reconnect with nature by plunging into icy waters or scanning remote landscapes